Was Mary conceived righteous like Eve before the fall, or reborn in the image of Christ?
A viewer asks whether the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived with righteousness in the image of Jesus, or was originally righteous as Eve was before the fall, leading her to be reborn in His image.
Answer
Mary has nothing to do with Eve, except figuratively, as the second Eve who does the right thing where Eve did wrong. Whatever Mary had, she was conceived with the same righteousness in her soul that you and I have, with the extra grace of not being subject to original sin. When we are baptized, original sin is taken away but concupiscence remains because of the body attached to the soul, and Mary too had a body like ours, not redeemed at the time of her Immaculate Conception, which is why she died. She is assumed into heaven, and we assume she received her eternal spiritual body then, as Elijah did when taken up, whereas we will receive ours on the last day. When we receive the grace of salvation our souls are regenerated so they can hold the grace of God that makes us holy, and the same happened to Mary when she was immaculately conceived. So it is the same process we go through, and it has nothing to do with Eve.